HB0854 - Outdoor Lighting Control Act

• Creates standards for outdoor lighting fixtures including buildings, recreational areas, parking lots, landscape lighting, and security lighting to prevent interference with adjacent property use and minimize atmospheric light scattering.

• Requires shielding and/or filtration for specified lamp types: high pressure sodium (fully shielded), metal halide (fully shielded and filtered), fluorescent (fully shielded and filtered), quartz (fully shielded), and incandescent over 150 watts (fully shielded), with exemptions for low pressure sodium and fixtures with automatic shutoff between 11:00 p.m. and sunrise.

• Prohibits installation of new mercury vapor fixtures for outdoor lighting after the effective date and allows recreation facilities to operate outdoor lighting after 11:00 p.m. to conclude events begun before 10:00 p.m.

• Exempts fossil fuel lighting, billboard lighting, government and school district lighting, stadium lighting, and existing fixtures installed before the act's effective date from compliance requirements.

• Authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency to designate "dark areas" suitable for astronomical observations or providing nocturnal benefits to wildlife and requires submission of a preservation plan to the Governor and General Assembly within 18 months of designation.